One of the finest examples of Golden Age architect William Watson’s work. This semi-private club offers some of the best green complexes in America. The property is split by a road and has some interesting moments, particularly on the back nine. If you are staying in Traverse City or north of it, in Charlevoix or Petoskey, this is a must-play.

In this author’s opinion, the Loop is among the finest public golf courses in America. This reversible Tom Doak design features brilliant agronomy with wall-to-wall firm fescue grass and exceptional ground hazards. This is a rare course in America that plays like a Scottish links course. The reversible design has a Black Course that moves clockwise around the property, and a counter-clockwise routing in the Red Course. They alternate which course is in play each day, and on the first day of every month, they host a popular event called the Dual, in which you play 36 holes and both routings. It’s a bit of a hike from Traverse City, but it is a world-class golf course that you should see before you die.

This course was modeled after the great Chicago Golf Club by golf architects Dana Fry and Jason Straka. On the sandy soils in Manistee County, it delivers an exceptional public golf experience with template holes, squared off greens, and a strong, modern representation of Seth Raynor-style golf. While it doesn’t boast stunning lakefront views of its more well-known sister course, the South Course is by far the most architecturally interesting of any course at Arcadia Bluffs.

This is one of the best stories in public golf. Superintendent Steven Biehl renovated the greens, bunkers, and converted the grass to fescue on a shoestring budget to transform an old, tired golf course into one of the country’s best values. Wolf River Golf Park has an array of exceptional golf holes, and the firm fescue turf provides one of the area’s best playing surfaces. Run to see this golf course and enjoy a rare, exceptional sub-$50 round.

Owner Lee Stone went on a vacation to Florida and saw a line outside a local course. He came back and urged his family to convert one of their farms into a golf course. With the help of Jim Cole, these two amateur golf architects followed Alister MacKenzie’s 13 principles. The result is a fantastic local golf course that navigates a severe property in a variety of ways and delivers a memorable and affordable round of golf.

The sister course to Pinecroft and Lee Stone’s second attempt at golf course design is on a stunning property. Champion Hill sits high above Crystal Lake and also features a view of Lake Michigan. The golf course is a fantastic value, but fair warning, the property will give walkers a workout. There are a number of standout holes on this course, scaled perfectly for golf.

The original design at Forest Dunes was lauded in the late 1990s. Since its inception, FD has featured sublime playing conditions reminiscent of a private club. While this author would never waste a potential spin around the Loop, Forest Dunes is a good golf course, it just happens to sit right next to a great course that should be looped over and over to better understand it.

Forest Dunes Resort’s short course, designed by Keith Rhebb and Riley Johns, is a great place to unwind on a late Northern Michigan night. The pair of architects, who have built some of Coore and Crenshaw’s best courses, built some funky greens.

When it opened in 1999, Arcadia Bluffs put the Northwest shore of Michigan on the map for destination golf. It became a course that attracted national visitors to an area that would normally entice regional visitors. On a stunning lakefront location, it's Michigan’s version of Whistling Straits with a lot less architectural interest. This is a course I put in the one-and-done bucket: play it once, see the beautiful lake views, and never endure another six-hour death slog on a mediocre design. In the future, you can skip the golf and enjoy the resort’s exorbitantly priced cocktails, stunning lakefront views, and bagpipers at the clubhouse after taking a lap on the South Course.

This will never top the list of greatest Donald Ross designs, but it is a great, affordable nine-hole course, perfect for zipping around while on a jam-packed family vacation. The course crescendos with the fourth hole, which plunges down to the shore of Elk Lake and plays along it for two more holes.

One of the pricier stops in Northern Michigan, and the juice might not be worth the squeeze. That said, it has some spectacular lake views, even if the golf course leaves a lot to be desired.

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‍Alister MacKenzie miraculously made it up to Frankfort, Michigan, during his North American tour to design Crystal Downs with associate Perry Maxwell. Sitting on a thin strip of sandy dune land between Lake Michigan and Crystal Lake, this vacation club possesses one of the finest golf courses in the world. The front nine is widely considered one of the best nines in all of golf. It unfolds from a high hill through a rambunctious property with holes that drape naturally over wonderful, natural slopes. The stretch of Nos. 5-8 is among the greatest in all of golf. The back nine spends most of its time in a meadow in the woods and features the divisive 11th green and unforgettable, challenging short par-4 17th. An invite here should be an automatic yes, and often the best time to find your way out to the course is after the vacation season (September-October).

The Mike DeVries masterpiece is Northern Michigan golf at its best. The rollicking property with wall-to-wall fescue turf provides an absolute thrill ride of a round. This low-key club is a must-see for all golf tragics thanks to its relaxed, golf-first atmosphere.

Once a staple of public golf, High Pointe found hard times and closed after the 2008 season. In the early 2020s, after losing out on a bid to purchase Kingsley Club, Rod Trump, a Florida-based entrepreneur, purchased High Pointe from the farmers who inhabited the land. Trump resurrected Tom Doak’s first design. The now-private enclave opened in 2025 and features six original holes, a reimagined hole that was the former 18th, and 11 new holes, nine of which were routed by Doak in 1987. Much like the others on this list, High Pointe sits on a tremendous property. It’s an amazing place to see architecture from two periods of Doak’s career.